Sergey Vladimirovich Grishin (russian: Серге́й Влади́мирович Гри́шин; 18 March 1917 – 25 June 1994) was a

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

and Hero of Soviet Union, who served as a

partisan Partisan may refer to: Military * Partisan (weapon), a pole weapon * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line Films * ''Partisan'' (film), a 2015 Australian film * ''Hell River'', a 1974 Yugoslavian film also know ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Early life

Grishin was born on March 18, 1917 in the village of Fomino, to a peasant family of Russian ethnicity. In 1935 he graduated from the Dorogobuzh Pedagogical School, after which he worked as a teacher and head teacher of an elementary school. In 1939, Grishin was called up to serve in the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

. In 1941 he graduated from the officer training courses.

World War II

Following the outbreak of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

, he commanded a tank platoon. After his platoon was surrounded by the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

units during the Battle of Białystok–Minsk, he managed to escape and made his way to his native village, where he created a

Soviet partisan Soviet partisans were members of resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. The ...

group, which in November 1941 became partisan detachment 'Thirteen'. In February 1942, Grishin, as part of his partisan unit, participated in the liberation of the city of Dorogobuzh. From March 1942, the detachment began a raid across the

Smolensk region Smolensk Oblast (russian: Смоле́нская о́бласть, ''Smolenskaya oblast''; informal name — ''Smolenschina'' (russian: Смоле́нщина)) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative centre is the city o ...

, and from May 1943, across the

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

. In June 1942, Grishin's detachment grew into a special partisan regiment, and in April 1944 it became special partisan unit. The partisan unit led by Grishin inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. In 1943 alone, the regiment fought for 1,500 kilometers, destroying 40 enemy garrisons, killing and capturing more than 14000 enemy soldiers and officers. Grishin's partisans blew up 333

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

s, 2

armored train An armoured train is a railway train protected with armour. Armoured trains usually include railway wagons armed with artillery, machine guns and autocannons. Some also had slits used to fire small arms from the inside of the train, a facilit ...

s, more than 1,000 vehicles, 9

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

s and armored vehicles, 97 bridges, 2 railway stations, and a number of other objects. By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated March 7, 1943, Grishin was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin for "skilful command of a partisan regiment and personal courage and courage shown at the same time". In July 1944, partisan formation 'Thirteen' merged with units of the 5th Army of the

3rd Belorussian Front The 3rd Belorussian Front () was a Front of the Red Army during the Second World War. The 3rd Belorussian Front was created on 24 April 1944 from forces previously assigned to the Western Front. Over 381 days in combat, the 3rd Belorussian Fron ...

, during

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп� ...

Post war

After the end of the war, Grishin continued to serve in the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

. In 1947, he graduated from the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (rus ...

and in 1955, from K. Е. Voroshilov Higher Military Academy. From 1955 to 1958, Grishin was as head of the Department of Army staff. Grishin served as an instructor in military schools from 1949 to 1953 and 1958. In the 1960s, he was instructed to form one of the first units of the

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

within the Soviet Army, the 69th Separate Special-Purpose Company in the

2nd Guards Tank Army The 2nd Guards Tank Army () was a large military formation of the Red Army and later the Soviet Army, now part of the Russian Ground Forces of the Russian Federation. The army was originally formed in early 1943 as the 2nd Tank Army. It was the ...

of the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupati ...

. After his retirement, he lived in Moscow, where he died on June 25, 1994. He was buried at the

Troyekurovskoye Cemetery The Troyekurovo Cemetery (russian: Троекуровское кладбище, Troyekurovskoye kladbishche), alternatively known as ''Novo-Kuntsevo Cemetery'' (russian: Ново-Кунцевское кладбище, Novo-Kuntsevskoye kladbishch ...

in Moscow.

Awards and honors

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grishin, Sergey 1917 births 1994 deaths People from Smolensk Oblast People from Dorogobuzhsky Uyezd Soviet colonels Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Belarusian partisans Soviet partisans Russian people of World War II Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the Medal of Zhukov Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery